Traditional knowledge of fire use by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in the eastside Cascades of Oregon

Abstract

A B S T R A C TWe examined traditional knowledge of fire use by the Ichishikin (Sahaptin), Kitsht Wasco (Wasco), and Numu (Northern Paiute) peoples (now Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, CTWS) in the eastside Cascades of Oregon to generate insights for restoring conifer forest landscapes and enhancing culturally-valued resources. We examined qualitative and geospatial data derived from oral history interviews, participatory GIS focus groups, archival records, and historical forest surveys to characterize cultural fire regimes (CFRs) -an element of historical fire regimes-of moist mixed conifer (MMC), dry mixed conifer (DMC), and shrub-grassland (SG) zones. Our ethnohistorical evidence indicated a pronounced cultural fire regime in the MMC zone, but not in the two drier zones. The CFR of the MMC zone was characterized by frequent (few-year recurrence), low-severity burns distributed in a shifting pattern. This regime helped to maintain forest openings created by previous ignitions, resulting from lightning or possibly human-set, that had burned large areas. The CFR was influenced by the CTWS traditional knowledge system, which consisted of four elements: fire use and associated resource tending practices, tribal ecological principles, the seasonal round (the migratory pattern to fulfill resource needs), and culture. Thinleaf huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), a cultural keystone species, occurs primarily in the MMC zone and was a principle focus of traditional fire use of the CTWS peoples. Fire was deployed to maintain shrub productivity and site access for harvesting. Cessation of fire use by ∼1940 has caused a decline in huckleberry productivity throughout much of the historical harvest zone. Our findings about CFR scale show how a nested, multi-level framework (patch-and landscape-levels) may be employed to reintroduce fire and thereby promote forest restoration and enhance culturally-valued resources. Our findings also highlight the utility of engaging the communities that hold traditional knowledge in the forest management and planning process. pattern of natural ignitions (e.g., lightning-ignited fires) and that of the

High‐severity and short‐interval wildfires limit forest recovery in the Central Cascade Range

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Indigenous fire management: a conceptual model from literature

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“…Fire suppression in fire-prone regions has created a perception of safety, but has not achieved a desired healthy ecosystem state, and has paradoxically increased fire risk (Ingalsbee 2017). Understanding cultural fire regimes can help restore fire-prone ecosystems and their services (Steen-Adams et al 2019). The desired state of an ecosystem is evolving and subject to shifting baselines, where people's perception of a healthy ecosystem changes from one generation to the next, or even within one's own lifetime, as their outlook changes (Papworth et al 2009).…”

Simulated Indigenous fire stewardship increases the population growth rate of an understorey herb

“…Fire frequency and severity make up the fire regime type and are influenced by multiple factors including climate and human ignitions (Balch et al, 2017;Dale et al, 2001;Hantson et al, 2015;Heyerdahl et al, 2001;Liebmann et al, 2016;Reilly et al, 2017;Steel et al, 2015;Walsh et al, 2015). In the continental and contiguous portion of the United States, Indigenous fire stewardship historically shaped forested ecosystem dynamics in many areas and provisioned ecosystem services (Anderson & Barbour, 2003;Boyd, 1999;Kitchen, 2012;Marks-Block et al, 2019;Pyne, 1982;Steen-Adams et al, 2019;Stewart, 2002;Walsh et al, 2018). This stewardship has been drastically reduced due to European colonization and its persistent impacts (Boyd, 1999;Walsh et al, 2018).…”